The White House and Afghanistan are reportedly close to an agreement that would allow continued U.S. raids even after most American troops withdraw in 2014. Under the deal, the United States would continue raiding Afghan homes under "extraordinary circumstances" to save lives. In return, the Afghan government has asked President Obama to write a letter apologizing for U.S. operations that have killed or injured Afghan civilians.

"No such letter has been drafted or delivered. There is not a need for the United States to apologize to Afghanistan. Quite the contrary, we have sacrificed and supported them in their democratic progress and in tackling the insurgency and al-Qaeda. So, that is not on the table." Susan Rice

War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in its scope. War is rarely necessary and never glorious. That’s one thing Americans should have learned from their experiences in Vietnam, and from seeing the daily horror and carnage of that war televised in their living rooms every night.

They don’t show the death and devastation in the little rural villages once full of farmers, the crippled children who happened to pick up cluster bombs, the charred corpses that are now called “collateral damage.” After all, showing such things would detract from the glory of war. "War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity. It destroys religion, it destroys states and it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it."--Martin Luther Ted Rudow III, MA